With 59% of construction now completed, grass at the Rio 2016 Olympic Golf Course in Barra da Tijuca has been sown on five of the 18 holes, with irrigation reaching more than two thirds of the course. Brazilian Olympic Committee Venue Management Planning GM Gustavo Nascimento said, "After this stage comes the 'bedding-in' period, during which we monitor the growth of this 'live' process." Nascimento added that the grass is expected to take around 11 months to grow. The irrigation system covers 400,000 square meters of sandy ground and is one of the most modern in the world, with all of the pumps, pipes and 3,000 sprinklers imported from the U.S. (Rio 2016).